


Put Your Records On

by ObliqueOptimism



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Not Beta Read, Self-Esteem Issues, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:28:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23095600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObliqueOptimism/pseuds/ObliqueOptimism
Summary: Klaus and Dave get their happily ever after.A story in four parts.
Relationships: Dave/Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 76
Kudos: 323





	1. He'll Be There

**Author's Note:**

> a new wip surprise to no one. hope y'all like this. came up with it once when i drove to my mothers then had to immediately drive back home because i realized i'd left my new (and shitty) coffee pot on and so i went home and turned it off before driving back to mom's again.

They were leaning against a tree, bark digging lightly into their backs, guns by their side, hands close together. If someone walked by, their hands were simply helping support the way they were sitting, but in reality it was so that they could cross their pinkies together. Almost like holding hands but sneakier. Klaus’s pinky lay over Dave’s, curled around it. 

Somehow this little act felt almost more intimate than most sex acts Klaus had ever done. And he’d done a lot over the years. But the way they were breathing together, pinkies entwined, stars above them. It was so very intimate.

The stars. Klaus had never seen the night sky like he could in Vietnam. 

Vietnam had brought him at least two good things: Dave and the stars.

He had no idea there could be so many that he would be able to see with simply his eyes. He thought he’d have to have some fancy telescope or camera or something. But now he could just look up during calm nights. Dave had chuckled when Klaus mentioned the stars. He’d said this was nothing. The smoke and light from bombs going off, from gunfire and actual fires, they covered and blocked out a lot of the stars. But at home? His family farm, near a small town, you could see for miles. The sky was really something there. 

He wanted to take Klaus home just to show him the sky.

And shit, if that wasn’t romantic, Klaus wasn’t sure what was. 

But Klaus knew he wouldn’t be going home with Dave. Not for long at least. Once they were done with the war, Dave would be done with him. No one ever wanted to keep Klaus for long. He was honestly surprised that Dave hadn’t wanted to cut ties yet, but he probably didn’t want to be lonely during the war. No, once Dave realized how awful Klaus was, how much of a handful, when he wouldn’t _have to_ deal with Klaus? He’d leave him.

Klaus knew Dave didn’t like his drug habit, _no one did_. He knew he could be loud and annoying and needy. Dave didn’t need Klaus dragging him down. Making him deal with his shit. And once Dave broke it off, well Klaus would look up at the stars one last time and go back to 2019 where no one made him feel loved.

He’d be fine. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Dave asked. “You only get this quiet when you’re being mean to yourself, so c’mon. Spill them so I can help.”

Klaus snorted in amusement. Dave had gotten very good at reading Klaus. Giving a shrug, he tilted his head up, seeing more leaves than stars. “You won’t want me later. No one wants to deal with me and my issues. So I’ll be here until you tire of me.”

Dave’s pinky twitched, tightening around Klaus’s, “Oh?” His voice was soft and gentle, “Like what issues?”

“Uh, my drug addiction for starters?” Dave knew of most of the big ones. Abusive dad, drug addiction, homelessness, being a general shitty person, the ghosts. He could list any of them but he thought he’d start off easy, with the one that always made people give up on him.

“Yeah? Well when we’re back in the States and you and I have a little cabin or farm, if you want-- _If you want_ , we can try and get you clean.”

Klaus was taken back for a moment on _if you want_ , as if Dave wouldn’t push, wouldn’t demand, wouldn’t say it was drugs or him. Swallowing, Klaus, full knowing how the conversation would go, asked, “And when that doesn’t work?”

_“If.”_

“No, _when_ ,” Klaus knew himself well enough to not lie to Dave like this. Best not to give him false hope. Sometimes Klaus thought he was more drugs than man. He knew it was a _when_ and not an _if_. The power drugs held over him was far greater than any strength Klaus had. He didn’t want Dave to leave him, but he couldn’t let Dave think that Klaus was anything more than a worthless drug addict.

Dave tilted his hand, the rest of his fingers curling around Klaus’s, “Then that’s okay.”

Klaus kept his hand loose, letting Dave decide when to pull away. Dave would always decide when he would pull away and Klaus wouldn’t try to keep him and ruin Dave along with himself, “You can’t mean that.”

Dave’s hand tightened its hold, “I can and I do.”

“Dave, it’s never worked. I won’t be able to get clean,” Klaus looked away. Bombs were going off in the distance. Far enough that he could see the battle but not be part of it. He could see people getting clean but he’d never been part of it. He just _couldn’t_. He knew that. Beyond the cravings and coping mechanisms, he just wouldn’t be able to.

“Okay, let’s think this out then. Why not?” Dave asked calmly, zero judgement in his tone. More curiosity, wanting to plan and figure it out. _Wanting to help._ Dave had a way of grabbing a hold of Klaus and pulling him close, making Klaus feel safe. He could be honest with Dave about himself.

He was never honest about himself. Not even to himself. He lied to himself almost more than he lied to everyone else. But not to Dave. He tried so damned hard to not lie to Dave. So by this point Dave knew about the ghosts, the reason that started his addiction. “Why not?” He quoted Dave back to himself.

“Yeah, why not?”

Klaus turned to look at Dave then, eyes off the far off battle, “Ghosts for one.” He could easily list more but he thought he should get the big one out of the way. He just couldn’t deal with the ghosts. The way they tormented him, never leaving him alone. They screamed and yelled and tried to hurt him and they looked dead. He’d been used to gore before any of his siblings were. He grew up with seeing blood and bone and brains. Not many knew what brains looked like, what the inside of bones looked like, how internal organs glistened. But he did. He knew.

“Sure, but we’ll be living in the middle of the woods. Probably less ghosts there,” Dave shrugged. He made a good point. Klaus hadn’t spent much time out of a city, but in a place where not many had ever lived? Probably less ghosts to chase after him.

And they would chase after him. He left rehab often with his own entourage of ghosts. Following him until he found his dealer and sold his 30 day coin for some drugs. A big market for those coins. He imagined a bigger market for those that said longer, but Klaus had never received more than 30 days and that was because he was often stuck in rehab for that length of time. “Well rehab never worked, why would it now?” It would probably work worse, what with it being in the 60’s. What did they do then? Tie you down and restrain you? He only liked being tied down in bed, not in rehab.

“Who says you have to go to rehab?” Dave asked as if this wasn’t a wild idea. Not going to rehab? How else would he get clean?

_“What?”_

“You can detox in our little cabin. I’ll watch out for you,” Dave said with a small smile. As if he was looking forward to helping Klaus get dry. He had no idea what Klaus was like when he was getting clean, coming down like that. If anything made Dave leave it would be when Dave had to deal with Klaus when he was like that. 

“You can’t mean that.” He couldn’t. He just couldn’t mean that. He didn’t know what it would entail.

“Course I can, sunshine. Little cabin or farm, a ways out of the nearest town, which will also be pretty small--” Dave started, painting a picture for Klaus. He spoke as if he’d been thinking about it, giving it serious thoughts. Not just fun fancy daydreaming, but plans. 

“I’m a city boy,” Klaus spoke quietly, entranced with the idea Dave had but worried that he’d get bored. He only knew city life. Sure, middle of nowhere, a town just as small would mean less ghosts but he was a city boy. He didn’t get to see the stars at night. They weren’t made for the likes of him.

Dave chuckled, “Don’t you worry. We won’t be far from the city. Day trips.” He turned and reached out with his other hand, light touch on Klaus’s jaw. Klaus turned to face him, letting himself be moved. Dave was always doing that. Reaching out to Klaus with calloused hands and a soft touch. “I want to make a life with you, Klaus.”

Klaus felt his heart flutter in his chest, his stomach did flip flops, his breath hitched. No one had ever wanted to make a life with him. He was an unwanted thing, an item to be thrown out when you grew bored or when it annoyed you. And unlike a toy, you just couldn’t take his batteries out when he wouldn’t shut up. But Dave apparently wanted that. He wanted a life with him. _”Oh.”_

Dave smiled wide, “We can get dogs, cats--”

“Goats?” Klaus broke in, a smile creeping onto his face. He’d seen some things about goats online. He’d spent an afternoon watching videos on goats and how they jumped and played and then he’d fallen into a youtube hole of watching a farm with a family of goats vlog. He ended up getting kicked out of that library the next day for causing too much noise. He didn’t remember what he did, but he remembered the day before with the goat videos. And he remembered the day after when he had to find somewhere else to hide out so he didn’t get heatstroke.

“You want some goats?” 

“Kinda,” Klaus shrugged. 

“We can get goats,” Dave’s smile grew. “I love that idea for us. We’ll exchange rings under the big oak tree in our yard--”

Klaus laughed, “Oh you got the place scouted out? We’re gonna have a big oak tree in our yard?” The academy had an oak tree in the courtyard. Not real big. But apparently it was where Reggie and Luther would chat. As if Klaus ever chatted with their dad. But a nice big oak tree? He wouldn’t be thinking of the academy with it. He never had any memories of it. He’d love to make memories with Dave under a big oak tree.

“Klaus, sunshine, every farm has a big oak tree in their yard,” Dave said, rolling his eyes in a fond way. Before Dave Klaus would not have been able to believe someone would fondly roll their eyes, but now he knew different. Before Dave there were a lot of things Klaus didn’t believe, but now he knew different. 

“Yeah?” Klaus could imagine it. Them sitting as they were now, but in front of their little house, goats laying next to them, under their oak tree and watching the stars. Maybe Klaus could be held by Dave instead of having to lock pinkies, hold hands if Dave was being brave. 

It was something he wanted. He hadn’t known he wanted it, just another thing he didn’t know before Dave.

“You’re a city boy so it makes sense that you don’t know such a simple fact,” Dave joked. 

“Oh of course, thank you for understanding,” Klaus snickered. Dave was always very understanding. Klaus didn’t get it. No one ever took the time to figure him out, not like Dave did. 

“Always,” Dave glanced out real quick before leaning in and giving him a kiss. It was a short one, but one filled with promise. 

Promise of a little home in the woods, goats, an oak tree that they exchange rings under. 

“If we went to the future, we could actually get married. Not just exchange rings under our oak tree,” Klaus said once they were back to leaning separately against the tree. 

Dave paused, “The future?”

Klaus nodded. It had been his one secret left to tell Dave, but if he really wanted a life with Klaus, he’d have to know about where he came from. “That’s where I’m from.”

“You _said_ you were from New York,” Dave said slowly, obviously trying to wrap his mind around the new information. He thought he’d let Dave take a moment to figure out all the moments that made it clear since they met that Klaus was from the future. He’d tried to keep it on the downlow but he wasn’t sure what all had happened by 1968. He’d known of some songs before they came out, some world events, his lingo was different.

“ _Future_ New York,” Klaus said. “C’mon Dave it’s not actually WWIII out here, New York sticks around for a while.”

“Good to know this isn’t WWIII then,” Dave said after a moment. Turning fully to Klaus, he said, “Tell me about it? This future New York?”

And Klaus did, he started with the night sky and continued from there.


	2. It's The End Of The World As We Know It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen, this is a filler chapter, so don't be expecting the beauty of the first chapter. but we gotta get past saving the world to get to more good klaus and dave moments. so here it is.

“You just _had_ to bring back a souvenir, didn’t you Klaus?”

“Jesus Five! He’s a person not a _I Heart Vietnam_ shirt!” Klaus yelled back, Dave’s arm around his shoulders, helping keep him present. The smoke from the Academy collapsing was making him think of the war. 

Five opened his mouth, ready to yell again when Luther spoke up, “Everyone okay?”

Diego, Allison, Grace, and Pogo all signed off. Thank god Vanya hadn’t been around when the weird masked group of men stormed the building. 

But Five wouldn’t be stopped, “Because _you_ time traveled and brought back a _boyfriend_ the Commission had sent men to kill and now the Academy is literally a demolished building.”

“Well _I_ wouldn’t have time traveled if _you_ didn’t have Cha-Cha and Hazel sent after _you_!” Klaus yelled back. This was _not_ his fault. How was he to know that bringing his boyfriend back with him so they could get for real married under a big oak tree would mean the Academy got blown up when the men sent to kill Dave got a bit enthusiastic. “The Commission did a hate crime against us.”

“They did not,” Five glared.

“They want to stop our wedding under a big oak tree by killing Dave. How is that _not_ a hate crime?” Klaus demanded.

“They want to kill Dave because he’s out of time!” Five yelled back. “Not because you’re marrying a man!”

“We need to check on Vanya,” Allison said, ignoring the fight that was happening. “And we’ll need a place to stay.” She glanced back at the collapsed Academy.

“The monkey boys and _Five_ can stay with Diego, the rest of us can check on and then stay with Vanya,” Klaus muttered. Dave elbowed him in the ribs, “Fine. Luther, Pogo, and Five can stay with Diego. Is that better, dear?”

“It is, thank you,” Dave kissed Klaus’s temple. Klaus beamed. Even though the Academy was now gone, and they’d killed a squad of men with guns, and they barely escaped with their lives, Klaus was still certain that bringing Dave back to 2019 with him was a good choice. Easily the best decision of his life. 

The men had stormed the Academy, yelling about time travel and asking which one Dave was. It was very clear when they showed up that they were there to kill him. Klaus would not let that happen, he’d disarmed one of the men before shooting them and then the battle started. He had a few flashbacks in the middle of it, but they came out winning. 

And then the Academy started to rumble and it became clear that the squad had decided if they couldn’t shoot Dave, they’d crush him with the building. But somehow they all managed to get out, even Grace and Pogo.

“Do you think they’d go after Vanya?” Klaus asked Allison. “Dave’s here with me.”

Allison shrugged, “I hope not.”

Without much more conversation they ended up splitting up like Klaus had suggested. So Klaus joined Dave, Allison, Grace, and Ben in going to Vanya’s. He hoped she didn’t mind them showing up, covered in blood and dust. 

“Should we have called first?” Dave asked as Allison knocked. Dave was always thinking ahead and making the sensible calls. He always made the most horrible situations seem easy and manageable. 

Vanya opened the door and after taking a moment of shock and surprise to see them, ushered them all inside, “Where are the others? Are they okay? What happened?”

Klaus leaned against Dave, loving being held in his arms as Allison explained the situation, “We’re so sorry but we have nowhere to go. We really hope that us being here doesn’t put you in any danger.”

“I’d hate it if you got hurt because of me,” Dave said, head resting on Klaus’s shoulder. 

Dave had met Vanya earlier in the day. There had been a family meeting and she was able to pass out tickets to a concert she was giving, she promised to find one more to give Dave.

She of course, let them stay, canceling some plans on meeting up with a new friend, her family needed her. 

Only that night, when they were all almost asleep, Grace spoke up, “Children, I have something important to say and I don’t know how much time I have left to say it.”

“What do you mean?” Vanya asked.

“My charging station was in the Academy. While Pogo will be able to rebuild me one, I don’t know how soon, or how long I will be charged and this is important. I can’t let this continue now that your father, the wonderful man, has passed.”

Dave whispered to Klaus about a charging station, Klaus quickly said he’d explain more later.

And then Grace said the unthinkable.

Vanya had powers, when they were little she had accidentally killed her nannies, which led to Grace. Then Reginald made Allison Rumor her powers away as much as she could, the pills took care of the rest.

“Holy shit,” Klaus said, breaking the silence after Grace spilled all of their dad’s secrets. “What a shitty thing to do.”

“Your father was a great man,” Grace said, “but flawed. He made mistakes. We can only hope to correct them.”

“I’m so sorry Vanya,” Allison said, reaching out to hug her.

Vanya accepted the hug, “It’s not your fault.”

After Vanya and Allison shared a good cry, with Klaus trying not to join in, Vanya turned to Grace, “So if I stop taking my medication, my powers should come back? Because, um, I haven’t taken it in a few days.”

Klaus let out a whistle, “May not want to go cold turkey, Van. Not something you’ve been on as long as we can remember. Don’t want to be dopesick.” Dave elbowed him, “What? It’ll mess with her brain. I know about these things, Davey. Sure, her drug isn’t heroin but the method of stopping is the same.”

“Klaus is right,” Grace agreed. “You need to slowly take yourself off your medication. We’ll be here for you, to help.” She then asked to use the phone, she called Diego’s and spoke to Pogo, telling him to let the rest know so they would all be on the same page.

Five popped in fifteen minutes later, “She has powers?”

“She’s right here,” Vanya said dryly.

“Ugh, Five _get out_ me and _my souvenir_ want to be alone. From you,” Klaus grumbled.

“Sunshine, we aren’t alone,” Dave said.

“But we weren’t by the guy _blaming us_ ,” Klaus pointed out.

“Shut up, I don’t care about that anymore,” Five said. “We need to discuss your powers.”

“Can we not? Right now?” Vanya asked hesitantly. “I only just found out and I think I’d like some time to come to terms with it. We can talk in the morning, Five.”

“You tell him, girl!” Klaus cheered.

Five grumbled but after a little more prodding he relented and left.

In the morning they did discuss what all this meant. Overall, they felt like after they solved the end of the world they’d tackle her powers then. Until that happened, she should stay on the medication or start to wean herself off them. She agreed.

With that settled, they turned their planning to stopping the Commission.


	3. Get A Haircut And Get A Real Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to rem as always, but also thanks to mace because of [this post](https://mieczyhale.tumblr.com/post/611859267660742656) this chapter is written.

Klaus sighed dramatically, flopping down on his sofa, head landing in Dave’s lap. The sofa was a bit uncomfortable, lumpy in places, and the pattern was an eyesore when sober and hilarious when high. But he had Dave and their shitty apartment. It was much better than living on the streets, better than Vietnam, and more preferable than when they were sharing the boiler room with Diego after the Academy crumbled. 

Diego was in their kitchen, making dinner for the three of them. A sort of pseudo family night, but just the three of them, having gotten closer while they were all roomies. As Vanya was practicing her new powers a few of her possessions would explode or crack and it was not an ideal place for two war vets, and so Diego took them in until they had enough saved to get their own place.

Inheritance was all tied up with legal jargon Klaus did not pay much attention to beyond the fact that none of them had it yet. 

Klaus pulled a joint from a pocket and then the lighter from Dave’s breast pocket with a grin, lighting it up. 

“Do you have to?” Diego growled out.

“It’s not heroin,” Klaus replied as Dave started running his hands through his hair. “It could be, if you keep badgering me about it.”

“Besides, this is our place, Diego,” Dave said. “And if Klaus wants to get lit, he can.”

Klaus had been expecting differently, even though Dave had said it would be okay if he never quit drugs, but so far Dave stood up for him whenever someone started nagging. He had quit the really hard stuff, which had been difficult. He did like heroin _a lot_ but he liked Dave more. He still had alcohol, pot, a few select types of pills. But no more of the hard stuff. He sometimes wished he could quit it all, he felt bad taking Dave’s hard earned money and using it to buy drugs but he no longer wanted to use _optional payments_ to pay for his illicit items.

Dave said he didn’t mind, he made enough to cover rent, groceries, and the drugs. But they were trying to save up to buy that farm with a giant oak tree. They’d get there faster if he didn’t do drugs.

They’d had many conversations about it, always ending with Dave reaffirming how he would support Klaus, no matter his choices. That he loved them, and they could take their time to buy that farm with the oak tree, after all, it’s not like the end of the world was coming.

But Klaus still felt shitty with how Dave was able to hold down a job and Klaus still bummed around, doing drugs and not much else.

Wrapping an arm around Dave as Dave continued to run his hand through his hair, Klaus said, “Saturday might as well be the only day of the weekend, because then you just spend all of Sunday worrying about Monday.”

The sound of Diego chopping stopped, “You don’t even have a job.”

Klaus blew a raspberry, “No, but Dave has a job and I miss him when he’s gone.”

“I miss you too, sunshine,” Dave said, leaning down and kissing the tip of his nose.

Klaus grinned for a second from the warmth from his fiance, but then he frowned, voicing his thoughts, “What if something happened to you. What if you have a bad day? What if someone is mean to you?” Klaus knew Dave could take care of himself, and could deal with whatever his coworkers dished out, but he still worried. He was at home, doing _nothing_ and so he could worry freely. Then, voice small, trying to talk only to Dave and not his brother, “What if you meet someone better at work?” 

Someone who wasn’t an addict, wasn’t a burden, could obviously hold a job and not be a waste of space. He was too needy, high maintenance, _annoying_. He’d heard it enough from past relationships, from his family. So far Dave had known him for over a year, a record of anyone staying by his side that long, besides his siblings who were stuck with him. Klaus tried to tell himself that meant he’d stay for longer, but his brain was bad and around 2 - 4 pm during most afternoons he had his sad boy hours and usually he couldn’t help but think that Dave wasn’t coming home that day. He’d found someone better or he’d had enough. Klaus would understand, he often wanted to get away from himself (thankfully drugs helped him do that), but so far Dave kept coming home and looking _so happy_ to see him.

Dave’s eyes softened, “That’s impossible, sunshine. You’re already the best and I’m happy. _Truly happy._ Klaus, we made it through Vietnam and stopped the apocalypse together. Nothing could take me away from you.” Klaus looked away from Dave, towards Diego who was obviously trying to listen in but not appear as if he was. He tried to blink away to tears building in his eyes. He glanced at the clock and saw it wasn’t 4 pm yet, prime sad boy hours. Dave’s voice was gentle as he tilted Klaus’s head to look back at him again, “You are my soulmate and nothing can ever change that, _so jot that down_.”

Klaus gave a hesitant smile. He knew he didn't have any reason to question Dave. He’d been so supportive of him, back in Vietnam and now in 2019. Dave never blamed Klaus when he had these doubts, he didn’t seem to blame himself either. Klaus asked him once, he said the only one to blame was Klaus’s past relationships, for teaching Klaus to question their relationship, but they were both growing and learning together and it was okay, Klaus’s fears weren’t their fault and Dave would always come home to him. And one day they would have their farm, with the oak tree and the goats.

Dave leaned forward, grabbing some of the junk mail on the coffee table and a glitter gel pen before writing something down and handed it to Klaus.

_Klaus is Dave’s soulmate_


	4. In the Woods Somewhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mention to penn and trinaq for both suggesting the note from last chapter be framed

“Is it dark enough yet?” Klaus asked, wrapping his arms around his husband. He glanced out the window. It was _starting_ to get dark.

Dave chuckled, “Not really sunshine. And peak time to watch the meteorshower isn’t until two in the morning.”

Klaus frowned. He’d never seen a meteorshower before and now that they had their little house with the big oak tree a little over an hour outside of the city, he’d have the chance to see one. He was excited. Dave had gotten blankets and pillows to put in the yard so they could lay and watch the sky that night. 

Klaus hoped he’d be able to stay up and watch. For some reason, since getting their cabin he’d been sleeping more regularly _and_ going to bed earlier. No longer was he up at four in the morning, hour 54 awake and snorting another line of coke. Now he was up a little after the sun, ready to go greet his goats and get them their breakfast while Dave checked his chickens and then before it got too hot out, he’d look at their vegetable and fruit garden. 

“David!” Klaus gasped, turning Dave around in his grip so he could look at him in the face, “Have I become old and _boring_?”

Dave smiled softly and tucked a stray hair of Klaus’s behind his ear, “Listen to me sunshine, alright? You will _never_ be _boring_.”

Klaus eyed him, not sure if he could trust Dave’s judgement. Being in love with him was obviously some very good rose-tinted glasses. “But I sleep _every night_ , for hours! And eat at least one meal a day! And--”

“And you aren’t hopped up on drugs like before, and you aren’t homeless anymore. We aren’t at war either. We own a little house and you have your goats. Butter Bean and Mae love you. You also have me, and I love you. How is any of that boring?” Dave questioned, his hands resting low on Klaus’s hips.

Klaus tilted his head, “I need more goats.”

“Mae is pregnant,” Dave chuckled. 

“We need to go to the farmer’s market Sunday. Remember how last time there was that pygmy goat guy? And you said no because we _walked_ there, _Dave_ , why would we walk to the farmer’s market? How much dumb bitch juice did we have for breakfast? We aren’t at war; we don’t need to walk for miles anymore. _We should buy a pygmy goat_. And we can get you a guinea fowl! I know you’ve been eyeing some for your chickens. _Two guineas!_ ” Klaus really wanted more goats. Sure, Mae was pregnant with Butter Bean’s kid but what if he had more goats in the meantime? And it wasn’t fair that Klaus had two animals and Dave had ten chickens. “I should have ten goats! _A herd._ ”

Klaus could cut down the dead tree and his goats could jump around on that. They’d love it. He could watch from under the oak tree, he and Dave leaning against the trunk and holding hands. No one else would be around to bother them, not squad mates, not his siblings, no ghosts.

Dave’s plan of getting a house far from the city proved right, there weren’t any ghosts around, other than Ben. The small town nearby had a few, but not like the city. And together, they’d gotten him clean. _Well_ , he still drank sometimes and if he went into the city he was sure to smoke some weed before leaving. But Dave had done as he said and he helped him detox in their little home. He’d already quit the really hard drugs by the time they moved but there had been plenty he’d still been taking.

Now, sometimes, out of nowhere, Dave would turn to Klaus and say _”I’m proud of you.”_ and then go back to whatever he was doing before saying such a thing as if he hadn’t just said lies and slander. 

Dave chuckled, smiling fondly. “I’m proud of you,” he said as if it wasn’t a wild thing to say.

Klaus looked away as he usually did, still unsure how to respond when his husband spoke so kindly to him. He eyed the framed envelope with Dave’s messy scrawl stating _Klaus is Dave’s soulmate_. Diego had made fun of him when Klaus had framed it, but Dave quickly came to his rescue, telling Diego that he had no room to talk as he had Grace’s cross stitched art framed and hung proudly on his wall.

Giving a sigh, Klaus hid his face in Dave’s neck. Mumbling, he said, “Is it dark enough _now_?” 

Dave laughed happily, “ _Tell you what._ We’ll get our blankets, get set up and maybe just hang out outside until it is dark enough. We’ll stargaze for a few hours, maybe grab that book Luther got you about the night sky, try to find the planets and constellations. Then relax when the meteorshower _actually_ starts.”

Klaus grinned, “Can we have wine? And then when it starts to cool off more, as the sun dips below the horizon, I can put my hands up your shirt, _or down your pants_. Y’know, to keep warm.”

“What a great idea,’ Dave agreed, nodding. 

Klau grabbed the wine and some snacks while Dave got the blankets, pillows, the book about space. Klaus waited by the door for Dave and then they walked out together, shoulders bumping together as they made their way across their yard to a spot that had a clear view of the night sky.

As they walked together, Klaus couldn’t help but think about how happy he was. His husband beside him, ready to show Klaus the stars like he’d promised.

**Author's Note:**

> obliqueoptimism @ tumblr


End file.
